Mazmur 23:3

23:3 He restores my strength. ¹ 

He leads me down ²  the right paths ³ 

for the sake of his reputation. ⁴ 

Mazmur 24:2

24:2 For he set its foundation upon the seas,

and established ⁵  it upon the ocean currents. ⁶ 

Mazmur 33:7

33:7 He piles up the water of the sea; ⁷ 

he puts the oceans ⁸  in storehouses.

Mazmur 78:24

78:24 He rained down manna for them to eat;

he gave them the grain of heaven. ⁹ 

Mazmur 78:33

78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied ¹⁰ 

and filled with terror. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 78:60

78:60 He abandoned ¹²  the sanctuary at Shiloh,

the tent where he lived among men.

Mazmur 103:12

103:12 As far as the eastern horizon ¹³  is from the west, ¹⁴ 

so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions ¹⁵  from us.

Mazmur 104:16

104:16 The trees of the Lord ¹⁶  receive all the rain they need, ¹⁷ 

the cedars of Lebanon which he planted,

Mazmur 105:16

105:16 He called down a famine upon the earth;

he cut off all the food supply. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 105:28

105:28 He made it dark; ¹⁹ 

they did not disobey his orders. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 105:32

105:32 He sent hail along with the rain; ²¹ 

there was lightning in their land. ²² 

Mazmur 105:36

105:36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,

the firstfruits of their reproductive power. ²³ 

Mazmur 105:41

105:41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;

a river ran through dry regions.

Mazmur 105:44

105:44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,

and they took possession of what other peoples had produced, ²⁴ 

Mazmur 106:41

106:41 He handed them over to ²⁵  the nations,

and those who hated them ruled over them.

Mazmur 107:30

107:30 The sailors ²⁶  rejoiced because the waves ²⁷  grew quiet,

and he led them to the harbor ²⁸  they desired.

Mazmur 107:35-36

107:35 As for his people, ²⁹  he turned ³⁰  a desert into a pool of water,

and a dry land into springs of water.

107:36 He allowed the hungry to settle there,

and they established a city in which to live.

Mazmur 145:20

145:20 The Lord protects those who love him,

but he destroys all the wicked.

Mazmur 147:13

147:13 For he makes the bars of your gates strong.

He blesses your children ³¹  within you.

Mazmur 147:17

147:17 He throws his hailstones ³²  like crumbs.

Who can withstand the cold wind he sends? ³³ 

[23:3]  ¹ tn The appearance of the Hebrew term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi), traditionally translated “my soul,” might suggest a spiritualized interpretation for the first line of v. 3. However, at the surface level of the shepherd/sheep metaphor, this is unlikely. When it occurs with a pronominal suffix נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. 4 נֶפֶשׁ.a). In this context, where the statement most naturally refers to the physical provision just described, the form is best translated simply “me.” The accompanying verb (a Polel form [factitive use] of שׁוּב [shuv]), if referring to the physical provision just described, carries the nuance “refresh, restore strength.”

[23:3]  ² tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 (יְשׁוֹבֵב [yÿshovev] and יַנְחֵנִי [yakheniy]), like those in vv. 1-2, highlight what is typical of the shepherd/sheep relationship.

[23:3]  ³ tn The attributive genitive צֶדֶק (tsedeq) is traditionally translated “righteousness” here, as if designating a moral or ethical quality. But this seems unlikely, for it modifies מַעְגְּלֵי (ma’ggÿley, “paths”). Within the shepherd/sheep metaphor, the phrase likely refers to “right” or “correct” paths, i.e. ones that lead to pastures, wells, or the fold. While צֶדֶק usually does carry a moral or ethical nuance, it can occasionally refer to less abstract things, such as weights and offerings. In this context, which emphasizes divine provision and protection, the underlying reality is probably God’s providential guidance. The psalmist is confident that God takes him down paths that will ultimately lead to something beneficial, not destructive.

[23:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term שֶׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the shepherd’s reputation. (The English term “name” is often used the same way.) The statement לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ (lÿma’an shÿmo, “for the sake of his name”) makes excellent sense within the framework of the shepherd/sheep metaphor. Shepherds, who sometimes hired out their services, were undoubtedly concerned about their vocational reputation. To maintain their reputation as competent shepherds, they had to know the “lay of the land” and make sure they led the sheep down the right paths to the proper destinations. The underlying reality is a profound theological truth: God must look out for the best interests of the one he has promised to protect, because if he fails to do so, his faithfulness could legitimately be called into question and his reputation damaged.

[24:2]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite, referring to the creation of the world.

[24:2]  ⁶ sn He…established it upon the ocean currents. The description reflects ancient Israelite prescientific cosmology, which is based on outward appearances. The language also suggests that God’s creative work involved the subjugation of chaos, symbolized by the sea.

[33:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “[he] gathers like a pile the waters of the sea.” Some prefer to emend נֵד (ged, “heap, pile”; cf. NASB) to נֹד (nod, “bottle”; cf. NRSV; NIV “into jars”), but “pile” is used elsewhere to describe water that the Lord confines to one place (Exod 15:8; Josh 3:13, 16; Ps 78:13). This verse appears to refer to Gen 1:9, where God decrees that the watery deep be gathered to one place so that dry land might appear. If so, the participles in this and the following line depict this action with special vividness, as if the reader were present on the occasion. Another option is that the participles picture the confinement of the sea to one place as an ongoing divine activity.

[33:7]  ⁸ tn Or “watery depths.” The form תְּהוֹמוֹת (tÿhomot, “watery depths”) is the plural form of תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “great deep”; see Gen 1:2).

[78:24]  ⁹ sn Manna was apparently shaped like a seed (Exod 16:31), perhaps explaining why it is here compared to grain.

[78:33]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he ended in vanity their days.”

[78:33]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and their years in terror.”

[78:60]  ¹² tn Or “rejected.”

[103:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “sunrise.”

[103:12]  ¹⁴ tn Or “sunset.”

[103:12]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, rebellious act”) is here used metonymically for the guilt such actions produce.

[104:16]  ¹⁶ sn The trees of the Lord are the cedars of Lebanon (see the next line), which are viewed as special because of their great size and grandeur. The Lebanon forest was viewed elsewhere in the OT as the “garden of God” (see Ezek 31:8).

[104:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “are satisfied,” which means here that they receive abundant rain (see v. 13).

[105:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).

[105:28]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”

[105:28]  sn He made it dark. The psalmist begins with the ninth plague (see Exod 10:21-29).

[105:28]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.

[105:32]  ²¹ tn Heb “he gave their rains hail.”

[105:32]  ²² tn Heb “fire of flames [was] in their land.”

[105:36]  ²³ tn Heb “the beginning of all their strength,” that is, reproductive power (see Ps 78:51).

[105:36]  sn Verses 28-36 recall the plagues in a different order than the one presented in Exodus: v. 28 (plague 9), v. 29 (plague 1), v. 30 (plague 2), v. 31a (plague 4), v. 31b (plague 3), vv. 32-33 (plague 7), vv. 34-35 (plague 8), v. 36 (plague 10). No reference is made in Ps 105 to plagues 5 and 6.

[105:44]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”

[106:41]  ²⁵ tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”

[107:30]  ²⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the sailors) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[107:30]  ²⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the waves) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[107:30]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT.

[107:35]  ²⁹ tn The words “As for his people” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. The psalmist contrasts God’s judgment on his enemies with his blessing of his people. See the note on the word “enemies” in v. 39 for further discussion.

[107:35]  ³⁰ tn The verbal form appears to be a preterite, which is most naturally taken as narrational. See the note on the word “turned” in v. 33.

[147:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “your sons.”

[147:17]  ³² tn Heb “his ice.”

[147:17]  ³³ tn Heb “Before his cold, who can stand?”